RIP mainstream cinema.

Sad Professor

I watch very little television anymore. Unless the show really grabs me from the first episode I just couldn't be bothered working my way though several hours to get to the good stuff. That time feels better spent watching the many excellent films out there that I've never seen. The only show I really watch now is Mad Men. Nothing else really interests me at the moment.

emmetmurphy

Technocentral wrote: »

Mainstream cinema is pretty much dead, now to cap it all we have a ****ing film based on a board game you play with pegs (Battleship), how sad, its all Transformers 3, Spiderman 5, MI 4 and other endless unoriginal sequels or films based on toys with almost 100% CGI and 0% story and character development. I think TV is where all the writers and directors/producers of original, edgy and exciting human based dramas aimed at intelligent people over 10 yrs of age and with at least a bit of an attention span have migrated to and are making shows such as Mad Men, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Shameless and Battlestar Galactica etc, such a pity, at least we have one or two things like The Artist to look forward to.

Edit: Not to mention remakes of foreign language films a few months later (sometimes by the same directors!) for the cretins who won't read subtitles or look at actors who aren't American or British (Funny Games, Let The Right One In, Dragon Tattoo etc). Thats just as dispiriting.

Ohh no i didnt even know it was sick

Galvasean

Sad Professor wrote: »

I watch very little television anymore. Unless the show really grabs me from the first episode I just couldn't be bothered working my way though several hours to get to the good stuff. That time feels better spent watching the many excellent films out there that I've never seen. The only show I really watch now is Mad Men. Nothing else really interests me at the moment.

I think television as we know it is dying in terms of format. I simply lack the patience to wait for a whole week to see another 40 odd minutes of my favourite shows. I much prefer getting the box set on DVD/blu ray and watching all or most of it in one or two goes. I got The Walking Dead DVD at Christmas and watched it all in 2 nights (as opposed to over the course of 6 weeks had I watched it on TV). It can also be hard to remember the more subtle subplots of shows when its been a few weeks since you saw that bit (worse still should you miss an episode).
For those reasons I generally don't watch 'tune in next week' type shows on TV anymore. I still watch self contained stuff like Frozen Planet or Planet Dinosaur as you aren't in the dark if you miss an episode or two.

Technocentral

Galvasean wrote: »

I think television as we know it is dying in terms of format. I simply lack the patience to wait for a whole week to see another 40 odd minutes of my favourite shows. I much prefer getting the box set on DVD/blu ray and watching all or most of it in one or two goes. I got The Walking Dead DVD at Christmas and watched it all in 2 nights (as opposed to over the course of 6 weeks had I watched it on TV). It can also be hard to remember the more subtle subplots of shows when its been a few weeks since you saw that bit (worse still should you miss an episode).
For those reasons I generally don't watch 'tune in next week' type shows on TV anymore. I still watch self contained stuff like Frozen Planet or Planet Dinosaur as you aren't in the dark if you miss an episode or two.

Its sad that everyone nowadays seems to want instant gratification, I love having something to look forward to on the box when my favourite weekly shows are on, having to wait 7 days and talking to friends about last nights episode adds to the enjoyment in my opinion.

Technocentral

emmetmurphy wrote: »

Ohh no i didnt even know it was sick

Its terminally ill (see the thread on remaking Police Academy).

nyarlothothep

Goldstein wrote: »

In the 2000s absolutely - You had The Wire, The Sopranoes, Oz, BSG, Firefly, Generation Kill, Deadwood, The West Wing, Band of Brothers, etc. but the overall level of quality has been in a slow but steady decline now for about I'd say 3 years.

Now we have Breaking Bad (For 16 more eps), Treme (2x seasons), Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones and a couple of others and that's about it. The rest are flattered by an absense of any truly great shows to compare to. Even your small screen blockbuster-eske types like Lost and 24 are gone.

I think this is definitely the worst it's been since the turn of the millennium although we were spoiled by quality in the 2000s. Cinema has a lot less to fear from tv now than it did a few years ago - a big opportunity perhaps.

I think that maybe overall tv has declined but Spartacus and Game of Thrones are two of the most awesome series I have ever seen since BtVS. Granted Six Feet Under was well made, that and Nip Tuck were the only series that piqued my interest during the 00s. I never understood the hype about the Sopranos or BSG, and even then 6 Feet Under wasn't that great and Nip Tuck was a bit blah after the ridiculous humour latent in the premise got old.

But after watching Spartacus, in particular the blood soaked season finale with the amazing acting from John Hannah (Batiatus) who puts on the ultimate wtf?!!!! face when Spartacus uses Crixus's shield to leap up and stab some guard in the head, the whole episode is fcking uber extreme and brilliant. The best part of it is the fact that its not so straightfoward, yes the Romans have it coming big time but seeing them get slaughtered is difficult to watch because these characters have been built up over 13 episodes and they're not wholly evil, they have good traits too, like when Batiatus promises to make Onemaius lanaistre or even Lucretia's conversation with Crixus in his cell. That layer of complexity behind the slave revolt, the fact that I didn't feel gung ho about it is genius because most films/tv programs would probably take the simple revenge route, whereas in that episode it was tainted revenge. Its also a show that doesn't take itself too seriously which I find refreshing amidst all the ho hum po facedness these days.

So when you have tv as kick ass and in your face, controversial, original, well acted and directed as Spartacus or Game of Thrones (more cerebral, less instant gratification but longer lasting probably) I don't think tv is in such a bad state. None of the 00s shows really captured my imagination as these shows have. Although there is a lot of x factor/reality tv show sh1te which I ignore.

johnny_ultimate

Being honest, I think television and especially video games are almost irrelevant to his discussion. You may as well add books and sculpting to the discussion Serialised storytelling naturally - and increasingly, admittedly - shares some similarities with film-making but there's a huge difference in terms of what you can do with characters. And interactivity is a whole other ballpark, although big budget gaming (from Uncharted to Modern Warfare) could do with standing back and stop obsessing over copying film. But elsewhere gaming is its own unique artform, whether it be uniquely skill based and involving entertainment (Bayonetta or Street Fighter) or astonishing world creation (Dark Souls or Skyrim). But only a tiny handful of games - Flower and Braid spring to mind - have the emotive and thematic depth to compete with other artforms. It's ever improving, though.

I got distracted there - basically, I still think it is important to separate all three as entirely distinct mediums. Sure, an episode of Breaking Bad / Mad Men / The Wire (three important pinnacles, IMO) may resemble a film technically and narratively, but its the serialisation and time spent with the characters that makes the payoffs. I'd argue it's much more difficult to tell a story within an hour and a half. Film is also far stronger at letting auteur voices emerge loud and clear - even the best TV shows can suffer from an inconsistency in quality and writing from episode to episode due to its very nature.

Whenever I have free time, it's a constant battle trying to split it between games, TV and film. Because I know all three provide remarkably different experiences, and it would be a damn shame if they ever blended together.

Victor

Mickeroo wrote: »

I don't know, i think TV is going through a bit of a golden age the last ten years imho, some astoundingly good stuff being produced and a lot of it not dumb either.

I think there is a dichotomy. Soaps seven days a week -v- Band of Brothers and the like.